


Of Bloodstained Snow

by ElaineGaron



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Family Feels, Feels, Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-20 00:02:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13134942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElaineGaron/pseuds/ElaineGaron
Summary: It had been years since Genji had last seen Hanamura covered in snow. The white around him made the world become more silent, drowning out the sounds and giving it a certain picturesque stillness. It was strange, seeing the snow fall like this, white and untouched. He could remember the last time he had seen it fall over his home. It had been years since it had happened and even after coming to terms with the events, he would still often dream about it. Snow always reminded him on his brother.





	Of Bloodstained Snow

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is my first time writing in this fandom. Welp, hope you guys like it nonetheless.  
> I just was asked to write something feels-y... so I did. And I kind of want to do more now, because I love making myself cry while writing :D
> 
> Have fun reading and do tell me what you think please! I can always need that when writing something in a new fandom!

It had been years since Genji had last seen Hanamura covered in snow. The white around him made the world become more silent, drowning out the sounds and giving it a certain picturesque stillness. It was strange, seeing the snow fall like this, white and untouched. He could remember the last time he had seen it fall over his home. It had been years since it had happened and even after coming to terms with the events, he would still often dream about it. Snow always reminded him on his brother.

His brother who he had finally found and offered a new start. Genji wanted Hanzo to learn to forgive himself for his actions. Just like he had. It would be hard and he knew, that being back in their home during this season was going to affect them both. He just did not expect how hard the memories would hit him.

It was not in front of the blood stains that had remained, even with them long gone, that he had frozen as if his systems had shut down. It was not when he walked the path he had dragged himself after being injured. It was not when he stood where he had collapsed, bleeding out in silence, his brother standing beside him. It was not the memory or reaching out to the man he had always admired and idolised only to be ignored and have him turn away.  
It was when he saw that little snowman peeking out from behind a boulder.

He could feel himself freeze in place, the full force of the memories drowning out the world around him. He was glad to still be alone, the others having fallen behind as he moved swiftly, using rooftops to get to their target location. Even after all those years, he still knew Hanamura better than anyone else. He had been sneaking around too much to not know every possible route to his family’s former home.

Maybe it was a mistake to rush. Maybe he should have waited. If he had, he probably would not be facing a snowman, that pulled all the pain and sorrow from his soul once again. He could see his brother, eight or nine at the time, standing there just like the snowman was now. He was laughing, smiling at his little brother who was throwing poorly made snowballs at him. Back then Hanzo had still known how to smile. As the years passed, that happy memory become just that, a memory. While Genji knew, how much pressure was put on his brother, he felt little put on himself. Time caused Hanzo to harden. Often it would feel as if his brother was no longer inside that shell.

Genji would often try to make the other laugh in their youth. He still did it now, hoping to ease the other’s burden by proving that he was not suffering anymore. And that his forgiveness was not a lie. But Hanzo seemed to still be intent to punish himself for what he had done, no matter how much Genji tried to change that.

He knew that the Hanzo was the one person not to blame. His clan had pushed him to commit what would ruin the rest of his life. Guilt and regret would plague his brother from that day on. Genji knew how hard it must have been for him even if he had never felt the same. He had not even felt hatred for the betrayal of someone he had held so dearly. All he had felt was pain. It was as if his own heart was broken alongside his brother’s. And when he learned about his new body, he hated it. He feared he was a weapon now.

He did not fear what this body could do to him. He knew that he would have died without it, the injuries too great, even for Angela Ziegler to save him without exchanging the biggest part of his body. He was scared to become a weapon. He was scared that one day, he would hurt his brother or the friends he had come to think of as family with it. If he lost control or if the wrong person took control… he would be lost. He was terrified of losing control.

Studying in Nepal had taught him, that if he did not fear his body, no one else would have to. Especially his master had taught him a few things about his own mind. It had trapped him for years. In his hatred for himself, he could not even summon his dragon anymore. He believed himself unworthy of such a beast, especially after having seen what had happened to his brother.

Genji was still staring at the snowman, not even knowing how much time had passed. He didn’t feel cold. His body was keeping itself warm without him needing to do anything for it. It was one of the few things he never thought he would miss someday. The feeling of his fingers freezing. It was something he still remembered very well.

He remembered how he reached out, his brother’s retreating back starting to blur in his vision. It was the last time he had felt the cold. And even though he was cold, there was something warm on his hands. Blood. His blood.

The snow around him had turned into red mush, covering the ground. He didn’t even think he could lose that much blood and still be conscious. He didn’t think he’d be able to reach out, lifting his arm off the ground and speak. His brother’s name was the last word he called out before the world went black back then. He could see the other standing there, bow in hand, blood covering him as well. But it was not Hanzo’s blood. It was his brother’s.

But it wasn’t the same. Genji had been torn apart by his own brother’s dragon. A dragon that he could watch being torn apart. One dragon became two, something he knew would only happen if one tore their own soul apart. He knew then, that Hanzo had not wanted to do this. And Genji knew he could never blame the other for what he had done to him. It was a mistake, yes, but he would not haunt his brother. He had decided this on what he thought was his dying breath. He has still mumbled one last Goodbye to his brother as he felt himself fade.

Genji never had expected to someday be able to return to Hanamura. He had never expected to see his brother again. He felt regret for not having been able to accept himself sooner though. It would have meant being able to work with the other to get through what he felt and did sooner. But it didn’t matter now. He knew that it would take a while. But he wanted to do this. He wanted to get them to be brothers again. Hanzo still struggled with accepting his brother’s body. And Genji knew it wasn’t because the body itself disgusted him or put him off. Rather it was because he blamed himself for getting his brother stuck like that. He believed Genji to suffer. But it was not true. Not anymore. He had come to accept himself the way he was and he knew he was glad to be alive.

If he had not survived, he would never be able to lift his brother’s burden. And there were few things he wanted more than that. If he was honest with himself, there were none. He wished for a normal life again. He wanted to be happy again with his brother by his side. He wanted to catch up on all those years lost. He was happy now, yes. He had a new family. One he loved dearly. But it was not the same. He missed their childhood. He missed the days before Hanzo had started becoming a fitting heir for their clan.

If anyone was to blame for what had happened, it was the men who talked Hanzo into doing something terrible enough to split his soul. It was not their father, who might have been strict but also very tolerant. He never truly wanted Genji punished for what he did. He understood him to some extent. And he wanted his older son to enjoy moments of his life as well. But Hanzo was too serious. He did not fool around any longer and always felt bothered by the other, who kept doing crazier things with the day. He wanted to catch his brother’s attention. Make him drop the façade even just for a moment. He had wanted him to be who he used to be just once.

Genji stood, flexing his fingers, staring at them as if they could answer his questions. But of course, they could not. He knew there were no answers to the questions he had. There never would be. There was nothing he could do but wait and see.

He remembered his brother’s face when he had first learned that Genji was alive. It had not been long before he was seeking him out, knowing exactly where to find his brother. Back then the most pressing question had been how he was alive. But Genji never had an answer for that. It was one of the ways he could bait Hanzo into joining Overwatch. They knew. Genji was blacked out, but Angela would tell the story if he asked her. It worked when all else had failed. Hanzo was one of them now.

Their fights of the past long forgotten. They had been exchanged for training sessions and some way of becoming closer again. Genji knew though, that Hanzo regularly pulled away, back into himself. But he was patient. A patience learned from the monks, he spent all those years with. He wouldn’t push. He would wait. He could do this.

He sighed, feeling something wet inside his mask, realising that he was crying for the first time in years. And he was glad for the faceplate, covering his face. He sighed, lifting his head and turned around, expecting the others to arrive any moment now. As it turned out it was a mistake.

A snowball collided with his face plate. Genji blinked behind the mask, reaching up to wipe it off to look for who had thrown it. The sight caught him off-guard. He had expected Lena or maybe Hana, but to think it was him? It was truly unexpected.

Hanzo moved closer, standing beside his brother, an arm on his shoulder.  
“Where are the others?” He questioned.  
“I still do know Hanamura as well, do not forget you were not the only one raised here.”  
“I know, brother. I know…”

  
“It does bring back memories. Some I would rather forget but most…I will always cherish.”  
Genji smiled behind his mask, turning around, looking the same was as Hanzo did. The snowman in front of them smiling at them with his coal mouth. Genji raised his gaze, looking at the horizon he could see from where they stood. Things would work themselves out. His patience already was paying off.


End file.
